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I don't touch her, though. One, because if she moved away from me, I don't know what I would do. And two, because she's sitting on my left side, and if I touched her, she’d look down to see my scarred hand.
I sit still as my hand curls into a tight fist on my own thigh.
“But you're not mad now,” Allie sings her tease over the rim of her glass, giving Sadie a cheeky grin that has my brows pulling together. There's something in that smile that Allie is giving Sadie that has me feeling suspicious.
Sadie doesn't strike me as the kind of woman to talk about private matters with just anyone. So, she must feel very comfortable with Allie, which I like because I like Allie. She's a good wife, always in Trevor’s corner and she’s a good woman. She’d be a good friend to Sadie.
But I’m still surprised when Sadie blushes. “Nope,” she says with a pop on the P. “I’m not mad now.”
What does she mean by that—she's not mad now?
Is she happy? Of course, she's happy. She's staying here. So, she has to be feeling at least a little happy. Or maybe she just doesn't want to spend Christmas alone. I'd get that. But why does she let me touch her when we're alone if she doesn't want this—me?
I hate feeling this way. Robbed of confidence. This isn't me.
Again, I feel that burn in my chest when Will asks, “So when do you leave?”
“If Nick lets me stay the whole time, the week after Christmas,” Sadie answers.
That's just two weeks away.I want to keep her forever.
How can I want that after only a week? I don't even know her, but I want to know everything.
I can't imagine there's anything I could find out that would make me want her less.
Will raises his eyebrow. “That's a long time with a stranger.”
“I've been having fun getting to know Nick.” She lifts her shoulder before flashing me a smile that seems—is she flirting with me?I think she's flirting with me. “I think he's been having fun getting to know me, too.”
All right, there's heat in her eyes now. She’s definitely flirting. It’s been years, but I remember the heat a woman gets in her eyes when she’s attracted to a man.
I feel a sudden urge to toss her over my shoulder and march her up the stairs to my bedroom like a barbarian. But then she giggles, and I’m reminded that she’s beyond intoxicated and that’s not happening tonight.
I wouldn’t let it even if she wanted it—wanted me.
This—her—us—means too much to me.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Sadie
Allie and Trevor called it a night first. Three bottles of wine in, and Allie got a twinkle in her eyes. I'm pretty sure the entire table knew what that twinkle meant. Trevor certainly knew, because it didn't take him long to stand. He took Allie by the hand, calling goodnight over his shoulder as he practically dragged his giggling wife to the bedroom I'd made mine since coming to this mountain oasis.
It's really nice to see their relationship this way after four kids. A lot of relationships don't survive after two kids. A lot of couples fail to make time to make each other feel important. And I get it. Even as someone without kids, I get it looking in. Life can be exhausting. So, it's really sweet that when they have the time, they use it to add kindling to the flame of their love. It's sweet and it’s important. It’s the thing that’ll see them go the distance in life together.
I hope one day I'll have that too. I'm a little jealous, because I would really love it if Nick grabbed me and dragged me to bed.
He won't, I know that. But I'd love it if he did.
Even though Allie and Trevor had vacated the table, and my eyes were beginning to burn, Will hadn’t seemed even close to tired. The man is a party animal, and I think again that Katie would love him. She’d give him a run for his money and then some.
Thinking on it now as I study the man across the table, I think he’d like Katie too. I wonder what would happen if I could somehow convince my friend to make the trip here to see me. Maybe I wouldn’t be the only one considering a massive life change.
Because it’s my go-to when I don’t know what else to do with men around a table, clearly, I pull out the Yahtzee. Will raises one brow and murmurs, “How old are you?”
To which I reply, “Everyone loves Yahtzee.”
The truth is Mom and Dad had played ritually. Board games were their thing and Yahtzee and Backgammon were the two they played most.
